Prosody (Sindhi)

Pro sody (Sindhi) (Post Independence) The first book on prosody that appeared after I ndependence was Chhand Sugandh (1953) by Jhamatmal Khubchand Bhavnani (1905 - 1985?) . In the book writer explained principles of different Chhands ( Pingal Shastra ) along with some forms of poetry like Dohas, Sorthas, Lalit Pad, etc. He has also described different Alankar (Figures of Speech) in detail and also has covered the topics of emotions and aesthetics. But at places the writer has avoided adequate explanation of the topic s like Ras and has given only examples of poems. Besides, the writer has entirely relied on Hindi terminology and has not give n its Sindhi synonyms. Nevertheless, t his book being the first to touch the topic of prosody in India, wr iter’s effort was extensively appreciated. In 1954, same writer brought out the book on Pers i o - Arabic prosody called Sindhi Shair - I ttar - e - Arooz, which also was widely welcomed. Initiating with history of Sindhi language he has glanced over various periods of Sindhi poetry. He has thereafter exhorted elementary principles of Arooz viz stressed - unstressed sounds of words, rhyming schemes, use of Radeef ( refrain), and rules of scansion ( Taqteea ). He also has included details of various f orms of poetry; especially he has explained Kaafi (a lyrical Sindhi poetic form). The writer has not given separate chapter on Alankar (Figures of Speech), but at the end of every chapter he has covered one or another aspect of Alankar through examples of couplets of poems. But sometimes, instead of giving examples of Sindhi poems, the writer relies on Urdu examples, which could have been avoided. Only defence in favour of the writer in this respect may be that the book was published in early years of Partition and there were a very few Sindhi books that were handy at that time, as Sindhis were scattered all over the country and most of the treasure s of Sindhi books w ere left behind in Sindh, Pakista n. In 1981 noted poet Inder Bhojwani ( 1918 - 1992 ) brought out a small booklet of 60 pages on principles of Arooz (Pers i o - Arabic prosody) wherein, while exhorting basics of Arooz, he especially discussed Qafia (rhymes) and Sanae Badae (rhetorical devices) at length . But unfortunately due to shortcomings in proofreading and single line examples while explaining Taqteea (scansion), importance of book was undermined, the fact that author himself realized and he came out with a new full book titled Fan Shairy ( Poetic Art) in 1984. In this book he has elaborately explained technical aspects of poetry with appropriate illustrations. He has touched the practical ways of scansion too in easy way. In 1984 Bhagwandas Doulatani Hosh ( 1931 - 1998 ) published Sindhi Shair ain Chhand . Initiallly he has recorded in detail various ingredients of poetry viz. imagination, propriety of words used, rhetoric devices, clarity of expression , etc. Thereafter he has analyzed the Chhand Shastra ( Indian Pingal Shastra ) . He has written o n classical as well as contemporary poets and has drawn examples from their works. Similarly he also brought out a book on Pers i o - Arabic prosody with a title Sin dhi Shair mein Arooz ain Alankar (1986) . In this book he has explained basics of A rabic and Persian poetry that form Sindhi poetry. Explaining various Rukan (pillars of Arabic metres) he enumerates Seven elementary Rukan namely Faoolu n, m afaaeelu n , faailaatun, mustafailun, failu n, mutafaail u n, and m afaailutu n . He then explains Bahar (metre) which is repetition of a single Rukan number of times in the poetic line or mixture of more than one basic Rukan. After exhorting rules of scansion and Qafia - Radeef (Rhyme - Refrain) he also discusses at length some forms that are in vogue in Sindhi poetry viz. Bait, Qitaa, Masnavi , Ruba i and Ghazal . In 2003 a booklet by Satramdas Sayal (1914 - 2015) on study of Arooz was published. In fact it was more or less an extract from writer’s Grammar book Nao Sindhi Vyakaran (Part - I - 1980). This book gives information that is available in other books too. Moreover, the book cannot be considered standard as the author has taken unacceptable concessions in the examples while explaining principles of Taqteea (scansion). There is one more book on principles of Arooz called Gula va Khar by Lekhraj Kishanchand Aziz ( 1897 - 1971 ) . He initially has explained what makes a good poetry viz Takhayyul (imagination), Muhaakaat, lae (rhythm) etc. Then he examines poetry of some contemporary poets and points out what they lack or what mak es their poetry falter on technical grounds. However, whatever lacunae he pointed out and the amendments that he suggested in the works of the poets were questionable and sometimes out of tune of the original intent of the poets concerned, hence Lekharaj A ziz’s review of the poetry remained a controversy of this period, though he was a master of principles of poetry especially that of Arooz. Aziz’s review strongly emphasised the necessity of a practical aspect o f principles of metrical poetry that is yet awaited from an e xpert in prosody of Sindhi poetry. Va. Mo. .

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